


Werewolf in the Forest

by RedHeadedWoman



Series: 52 Stories in 52 Weeks [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Animagus, Animagus Reveal, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Violence, POV Remus Lupin, Pack Family, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Friendship, The Marauders - Freeform, Vomiting, Werewolf POV, Werewolf Senses, Wounds, Young Remus Lupin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 08:51:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6368113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedHeadedWoman/pseuds/RedHeadedWoman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus Lupin is grateful to be at Hogwarts and to have friends. No way in hell was he going to let them get hurt just because they want to save him from himself. </p>
<p>AKA Remus learns for sure that his friends are idiots. But maybe that's a good thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Werewolf in the Forest

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt for this week was a story set during the full moon.

Remus lay curled on top of his blankets, stripped down to his boxer shorts, and was still sweating. There were only hours left until the full moon but Remus could already feel it. The muscle pain and the migraine were always the beginning. It was only occasionally that he ended up either shivering from the cold or near naked from the heat.

If it weren't for his friends in the dormitory with him, Remus would've been naked.

As it was, even without clothes or blankets, Remus was still too hot. He could hear his friends talking lowly amongst themselves. Despite that, he could still hear them debating whether or not they should tell him something. He sighed, flopping onto his back, ignoring the flare of pain.

‘You remember my hearing’s really good, right?’ He asked, keeping his eyes closed. ‘Well enough to know that you should probably tell me whatever it is you’ve done.’

‘It’s nothin’ bad, Rem.’ James tried to assure. The three of them sat down on Remus’ bed, careful not to jostle him too bad. ‘It’s something good, promise.’

‘We just know you won’t agree. Not straight away.’ Sirius added. Remus cracked an eye for the express purpose of glaring at him. Sirius grinned and reached out to lightly ran his fingers through Remus’ hair. It felt really good. So good he fucking moaned. Thankfully, no one mentioned it. Yet anyway. They were probably gonna mention it when he was doing better.

‘That’s not helpful,’ Peter added in from Remus’ feet. ‘It really is a good thing, Remus. It’ll help.’

‘Help what?’

‘Help  _ you _ , Remus.’ James said, lightly punching his shoulder. It did hurt but underneath all the other pain so Remus didn’t exactly pay it much attention.

‘Help me how?’ Remus growled. The wolf perked up at the tone of his voice. Remus shoved it back. It could fucking wait another couple hours.

‘Uh, you have to promise you won’t tell us off.’

‘I will make no such promises,’ Remus snapped. ‘What have you done?’

‘We are the bestest friends you could have ever possibly asked for,’ Sirius said in lieu of an answer. Remus levelled him with his best glare. Satisfyingly, Sirius shrunk back a little.

‘Remus,’ James poked Remus’ cheek to grab his attention. ‘We worry about you, Rem. Especially during your time of the month. Your furry little problem can be -’

‘Destructive.’ Sirius added, jerking back when Remus reached out to hit him. ‘To yourself. Merlin, Rem.’

‘What the idiot means is that, the wolf tends to hurt himself, right? Cause he’s on his own and can’t get out of the shack. I mean, you’re the one who said being so alone and caged makes the wolf lash out. You always come back with nasty wounds. They’ve all healed pretty well so far but how long till you end up hurt bad?’

‘Or escape the shack and hurt someone else.’ Peter added, wincing at his words. Remus couldn’t deny they had a point. Wolves were pack animals, they needed socialisation.

‘Exactly,’ James said, grinning at Peter. ‘So we tried to think of a way to help.’

‘Help? You can’t help me with this. The only way to stop the wolf hurting me is for him to have a pack. And that means joining other werewolves during the moon and I can’t do that. Even if Dumbledore allowed it, I don’t want to join them. I don’t want to end up dependant on a pack of werewolves who I don’t know. With people who may not share my own views on how werewolves should live and act in society.’ Remus told them for what had to be the hundredth time.

‘We know that, Remus. We not suggesting you find other werewolves to hang out with.’ Sirius assured and started carding his fingers through Remus’ hair again. With the muscle pain, the headache, and the heat, it felt nice to have Sirius’ fingers lightly dragging over his scalp.

‘We found a better solution, Rem,’ James told him. ‘Listen, you’re not allowed to get mad at us, Remus. We, ah. How can we explain?’

‘Easy. We’ve spent the last three years learning to be Animagi and we managed it about two months ago.’ Sirius said. Remus’ first instinctual reaction was to laugh at them.

‘Yeah, okay. Sure you did.’ Remus rubbed his eyes, suddenly exhausted.

‘Remus,’ Peter lightly squeezed his ankle. ‘We’re not messing with you. We really have become Animagi. We thought we’d be able to come with you.’

‘Come with me? When?’

‘During the full moon, Remus.’ James said. Remus stared at him. ‘Maybe we should show you.’ James stood, moving back to do whatever.

‘Wait.’ Remus pulled away from Sirius. ‘No. Absolutely not.’

‘Remus, just listen -’

‘No,’ Remus snapped, hauling himself out of bed and dragging his clothes back on. ‘I’m not listening to this anymore. I don’t care what you’ve done or how you think it could help me. I won’t have you three idiots, animals or not, come with me during the full moon. You’ll end up hurt and I can’t -’

‘We won’t, Remus!’ Sirius tried reaching for him but Remus danced away and shrugged on his robe.

‘I will not be responsible for hurting any of you.’ Remus stormed out of the dormitory, brushing past Lily in the common room and made for the Hospital Wing.

Remus knew intellectually that werewolves rarely hurt animals they knew but he couldn’t risk hurting his friends. The only people, apart from his parents, that didn’t care that he was a werewolf. It was bad enough for Remus having to be caged in the shack during the moon. He couldn’t imagine if the people he cared about were locked up with him when he was at his most dangerous.

Which was probably what they didn’t understand. James and Sirius had grown up with wealth, living in stately homes, surrounded by the trimmings of wealth and prosperity. Peter’s family was fairly well off, living in a nice home in the suburbs. The three of them had never had to struggle to survive, not like Remus and his parents. They’d been forced to move from their modest home to a cottage on the outskirts of a small village in rural England purely because of something Remus couldn’t control. His mother had lost her job and his father found it difficult to conduct his job with a werewolf for a son.

Remus had spent his life hiding in the shadows, unable to step out into the light and simply enjoy his life. He hadn’t been allowed a childhood, hadn’t had friends or children he could play with. Even with Dumbledore’s kindness in letting him attend Hogwarts, there’d barely been enough money to buy secondhand robes and books. Birthdays and Christmases had been simple, quiet affairs. Especially compared to those  Sirius and James had, with ten foot tall trees and piles of food and gifts. Remus would’ve been lucky to receive two gifts and a turkey.

Sirius, James, and Peter didn’t know what it was to live in fear of  _ yourself _ . To be scared of the thing you are, the thing you turn into every month. This thing that lurks beneath the surface of your sanity and determines the kind of life you’ll be forced to live. His friends would be able to graduate Hogwarts and get any job they fancied. Remus would never have that chance. He’d never be allowed to work for the Ministry in any significant capacity. He’d probably never be able to become a teacher like he secretly wanted too. Remus didn’t even feel as though he could express his dream of teaching because what was the point? He’d never be allowed to teach.

They didn’t understand that he couldn’t just let them join him during the full moon, regardless of whether they were animals or not.

‘You’re early tonight, Mister Lupin,’ Madame Perkins greeted as he strode into the wing. She directed him to his usual bed in the very back corner. ‘Symptoms tonight?’

‘Hot,’ Remus said and began stripping again. Perkins had seen him naked several times and he couldn’t find the energy to be embarrassed or bothered by it. Ever the professional, Perkins took his mood in stride and helped him onto the bed and put several cooling charms on him. They helped but didn’t alleviate the heat entirely. Nothing really would.

‘Should I ask what’s got you so on edge or will you just growl at me?’

‘My friends are idiots.’ Remus said, careful to keep the wolf out of his voice.

‘That’s what you get for befriending those three,’ Perkins admonished lightly. She went about her usual checks. ‘Though I feel the need to remind you that -’

‘Going into the transformation angry will make it worse.’

‘And more aggressive.’ Perkins added. ‘I don’t fancy healing anything longer than my finger.’ Perkins demonstrated by tapping her index finger on his arm.

‘Do my best.’ Remus promised.

…

_ No escape from the building. _

_ The walls stung to touch. Glass wouldn’t break. _

Stupid Sirius. Stupid James. Stupid Peter.  _ Lupin was growling in his mind. The wolf liked Lupin mad. Made it easier for the wolf to growl. Easier to fight against Lupin’s hold. _

_ The wolf howled at the window. The moon was bright tonight. There was a village close by. The wolf could smell it. The food, the people. There was a forest with animals. Others to play with and fight with and  _ run  _ with. The wolf wanted to run. _

_ Lupin kept him caged. Lupin wouldn’t let the wolf run in the wild and be free. Lupin was the problem. Keeping him locked and caged and bound like an animal. Keeping him pushed down deep. Denying the wolf his freedom. _

_ The wolf growled. Dragged claws over the wooden walls. Wood should not be able to cage a wolf. But it did. It wouldn’t break. Couldn’t escape. _

_ The wolf threw itself against the walls. Tumbled down the stairs, cracking them and ripping chunks out of the walls. _

_ Dragged claws over its stomach. Lupin screamed. Bit its arm. Lupin whimpered. Lupin was weak. _

_ Lupin is weak. _

_ The wolf is strong. _

…

Remus woke slowly. He felt groggy, strung out. He tried to stretch, hoping to ease out some of the kinks in his back, but stopped real quick and rolled to his side to throw up over the edge of the bed. The splatter of it hitting the floor made him retch again. He absently noted a hand rubbing his back and a voice calling for Madame Perkins. The hands helped ease him onto his back again and lightly stroked his hair back. Remus cracked an eye open enough to see Lily standing over him.

‘You’re okay, Remus. Just breathe deeply through your mouth. You don’t wanna smell that.’ Lily mercifully kept her voice low. Remus closed his eyes again and followed her instructions. He heard the swish of someone’s wand. ‘Through your nose.’ Lily said. The smell was gone.

‘What did I tell you, Lupin?’ Perkins’ voice cut in. Remus forced his eyes open. ‘No more than the length of my finger, Lupin.’ Remus frowned, not understanding.

‘You’ve got a bad bite on your arm,’ Lily explained and touched his left arm beneath a bandage. ‘There’s also a really nasty gash on your stomach. A couple of them actually.’ Lily helped him push the sheets down to reveal the pile of bandages wrapped around his torso.

‘They’ll heal fairly quick,’ Perkins assured. ‘Though one or two of the gashes will leave you scarred. I can trust Miss Evans to look after you for a few minutes whilst I care for my other patients.’ Perkins gave him a stern look and disappeared out of his little cubicle.

‘Other patients?’

‘Couple of third years fell off their brooms. Sirius fell down some stairs this morning and managed to knock himself out. Potter and Peter are both with him. Perkins won’t let them in to see you. Said something about idiots?’

‘They are idiots, Lil.’ Remus tried shifting to get more comfortable but the wounds in his stomach stopped him.

‘Perkins used a lot of painkiller charms on you,’ Lily pulled the sheets back up, covering the bandages. ‘I know you need more but it’s probably better if Perkins does it.’

‘It’s fine. Thanks.’ Remus forced himself to relax. Despite the simmering anger at what they’d done, Remus was worried about Sirius. Lily must have picked up on this as she huffed at him.

‘Sirius is fine. He had a small cut on his forehead but it’s already been healed. They’re idiots, yes, but they’re your friends. You can be mad at them and worried about them at the same time.’ Lily brushed his hair back again. ‘Think you can take some water?’

Lily helped him drink a few mouth fulls of water. As he relaxed back into the bed, Remus could feel himself drifting off. ‘Lil? Tell Perkins they can come in.’ Remus said.

‘Will do. Night, Rem.’ Lily kissed his forehead as Remus fell asleep.

…

Remus, released from the Hospital Wing and back in his dorm, rounded on his friends. ‘Show me.’ He demanded. ‘Animagi.’ Remus added when they all looked confused.

‘Now?’ James asked. Remus cocked an eyebrow and sat cross legged on his bed, mindful of the wounds on his stomach. Madame Perkins had done all she could but the wounds would never fully heal. ‘Okay. Um, all at once?’

‘Whatever you’d prefer.’ Remus toed off his shoes and slipped out of his robe.

James and Sirius glanced at Peter who sighed but stepped forward. Remus watched as Peter concentrated for a moment and then started shrinking down into a rat. The rat ran over and climbed up onto the bed with Remus and curled up on his knee. Remus stroked a finger over the rat’s back. James and Sirius seemed to debate between themselves for a moment before Sirius huffed and sunk down into the biggest fucking dog Remus had seen. The black dog bounded over and jumped up onto the bed, whining and butting at Remus’ hand. Despite himself, Remus laughed and dug his fingers through Sirius’ thick fur.

‘What about you, James?’

‘Well, I’m not jumping up onto the bed, that’s for sure.’ James rolled his shoulders the same way he did before every Quidditch match. Where Sirius and Peter had shrunk into their animals, James grew into his. A massive, white stag stood in the middle of the dorm. The stag clopped over and nosed at Remus’ free knee. He reached out, smoothing his hand down James’ snout. The stag suited him, Remus thought.

‘I see what you mean about the bed,’ Remus said. The stag made a sound that coming from human-James would’ve been a laugh and lay on the floor, with his legs folded underneath him. He rested his head on Remus’ crossed ankles. He sat with the three animals, his friends, for several quiet minutes.

‘I’m still not sold,’ Remus said, idly stroking the rat’s back and scritching behind the dog’s ear. The stag was leaning against his legs and idly picked his head to look at him. ‘You’re right that werewolves do better in packs and they can’t turn other animals. But you could all still get hurt. Especially you, Pete.’ The rat gently bit his finger. Remus took the admonishment for what it was. ‘I appreciate what you’ve done, what you’re risking. But I don’t want any of you to get hurt because of me.’

James shifted back into himself and sat on the bed. ‘You might hurt us, yeah, but that’s a risk we’re willing to take. We don’t like the thought of you being out there alone, with no one for company. Look how badly you got hurt this time, Remus.’

‘I can’t exactly kill myself,’

‘Not the point.’ James said, knocking their shoulders together. ‘The point, my wolfy friend, is that we don’t want to leave you alone to do this to yourself. We know we’ll probably get hurt but, in the long run, it’ll be better for you. At least give us one chance, huh? One night to prove it works.’

‘Fine. One night, next month,’ Remus conceded. James’ answering grin was worth that much at least. ‘I’ll need to get you used to the three of you as animals though. I need to be comfortable around you three, the way you behave, the way you smell. It’ll help the wolf recognise you.’

‘We can do that.’ James nodded, scratching a finger over the rat’s head. ‘Also we, uh, have names.’

‘Names?’

‘For our animals selves,’ James explained. ‘Can’t just refer to me as "the stag", though how fucking cool is that?’ James’ grin become impossibly wider.

‘It is pretty cool.’ Remus agreed.

‘Whatever. We thought we’d call you Moony.’

‘Seriously? Little on the nose, isn’t it?’

‘Completely. But that’s half the fun. No one will know what it means ‘cept us,’ James shrugged. ‘It’s brilliant,  _ Moony _ .’

‘Fine. And your alternate name?’

‘I’m Prongs. Pete’s Wormtail. Sirius is Padfoot.’

‘Highly original. Well done.’ Remus sighed and lay backwards on his bed. Peter, Wormtail scurried up onto his chest and curled up half against Remus’ neck. If it had been an actual rat, Remus would not be so calm about it.

‘We figured Pete should probably stay on my back for a lot of the time. He’s pretty small so I don’t think the wolf would see him. Not at first anyway.’ Remus hummed as Padfoot shifted and stretched out along Remus’ side. James went to get off the bed, no doubt to transform and stay on the floor.

‘Reinforce the bed.’ Remus suggested. ‘Easy enough spell.’

‘Which is exactly what I was gonna do.’ James said.

‘Sure you were.’

‘We can’t all be as smart as you, Moony.’ James responded. Remus didn’t bother responding, giving James a chance to do the spell. Once done, he transformed and carefully got onto the bed. Remus watched out of the corner of his eye as Prongs shuffled around till he got comfortable, his head resting on Remus’ stomach.

The four of them fell asleep like that. A werewolf, a rat, a stag, and a dog curled up on a bed in a dormitory of a magical school. Remus didn’t know of a better way to spend an afternoon.

…

_ Something was different. The wolf could smell something different. The cage smelt the same. The village in the distance, the forest. The wolf growled low in his throat, unsure. _

_ A hoof stamping the ground, wood, the shack. _

_ The wolf turned, seeking out the sound and the new smells. _

_ A white stag. A black dog. A brown rat. _

_ Three unknown animals. The wolf growled, shifting its stance. Are they food? For fighting? _

For running. For play. Not food, not fighting. Not prey.  _ Lupin told him. Voice gentle and coaxing. The wolf growled at Lupin. _

_ The smells were familiar to Lupin. Friendly. _

For freedom.  _ Lupin said. Freedom?  _ Yes. They are friends and will stay with you. If you don’t hurt them.  _ Hurt freedom? Never. _

_ The black dog took a step forward. His smell was the strongest. Canine. The black dog kept inching closer. He was scared but not afraid. The wolf knew the difference. The black dog whined.  _ He wants you to like him _. Lupin was gentle. The wolf was not. But he could be. _

_ The black dog got close enough for the wolf to lean forward and press the tips of their noses together. The white stag made a pitiful sound. Worried for the black dog. The wolf could smell the worry, the scared, the anticipation. The excitement. _

_ The black dog pulled back and whuffed, barking and jumping around.  _ He’s happy.  _ Shut up, Lupin. The white stag, too, came forward to investigate. The wolf allowed him to sniff around for a minute. The wolf liked the stag. He was big and probably fast. The brown rat was balanced on his back. He was small but would be fast and fun to chase and find. _

_ The wolf decided they could stay. Maybe one day he wouldn’t have to be locked in the cage. The wolf could almost smell the freedom.  _ Maybe one day we’ll be able to run free with them. If they aren’t hurt. _ I will not hurt the dog or the stag or the rat. I will play and chase and find and run. Lupin was smiling. Tonight was just the beginning. _

_ The wolf had his pack. _

I have my friends.


End file.
